Sticky and Sweet
by BluStrawberri
Summary: She can sometimes be spicy, but overall she's sweet. A demon and his contractor have ice cream. CxR Rated T just in case.


It was a sticky and sweet summer day, Chrono mused. Sticky because of their clothes clinging happily to them in the way that only sweat-logged clothes could. Sweet because of both the girl sitting beside him, and the feeling in his heart as he watched her tentatively take a bite of her strawberry ice cream. Of course she would choose _strawberry_, something sweet for a sweet girl.

Well, not entirely sweet, he thought. She was usually spicy and saucy, speaking biting words that left all in her path gasping for breath. His apologies in her wake were as useless as water; it just spread it worse and never really healed the burn of her words and actions. But still, he had to do something when she was on the warpath, oblivious to the destruction of both property and minds. But still, this was not her right _now_.

Hmm, but somehow strawberry ice cream still suited her. He looked down at his own: Pistachio. One could not easily tolerate this flavor, but those who did undoubtedly loved it. It was sort of salty yet sweet, and a strange green color that made it stand out, just like Chrono. But then again, he thought, the Pistachio ice cream had no sins. It did not think, oh, I will be so different that most will not like me. No, it was just a flavor. It had no faults. Not like Chrono. Not like the Sinner inside of him. He turned away from the ice cream, suddenly feeling not all that hungry.

He decided to watch Rosette instead. She was carefully nibbling at her slowly melting cone, taking her time. He vaguely wondered why she didn't shove the whole thing inside her mouth like always, but thought better of it to ask. Instead, he simply said, "You know, it's going to melt."

"I _know_ that, Kurono!" Rosette said briskly, taking another bite of the sweet and now gooey mess. "I just like taking my time!"

"Well, it's going down your hands, Rosette," He said, and part of him wished he hadn't because as soon as he said that, her tiny bubblegum tongue came out and lapped up the offending streak on her hand. He stared, transfixed as she cleaned up the mess and ran her lips oh-so-delectably over her rosy-red lips. It was a while before he noticed that not only had she stopped, but was giving him an odd stare. He turned away.

"You're wondering why I eat it so slowly, hm?" Her voice asked out of nowhere, startling him a bit. He looked back at her, and she was looking down at the syrupy mess of what was left of her ice cream.

"Um…" he didn't know what to say at that, really, and was just glad that he was off the hook. She was waiting for him to answer, he realized, and so he asked, "Why?"

She smiled a small, sad smile, and he wished so much how he could take it off of her face at that moment. "It's because I don't get to act like a kid all that often, and I just want it to last."

"Oh," he said simply. A pang of guilt suddenly stabbed at his heart, for taking her very short childhood away from her. She was so young and so innocent when he met her, so full of life. Now she just looked worn down, plagued by the nightmares he knew she had every night. And he had taken all of that away from her, instantly, when he contracted with her. Oh god, did she feel remorse?

She looked up at him, almost as if she remembered he was there. Realization dawned on her face as she recognized the look that Chrono has had so many times before. "Oh, no! No you don't!"

"Don't what?" Chrono asked wearily, not looking at her. "Don't wonder what kind of life you would have lived without…"

"…Without what? Without all of this?" She finished for him. She paused for a second, lost in thoughts. "Well…I suspect it would be quite boring."

This time, he looked at her. "What? What do you mean? You'd have gone on to live a happy life with your brother! You wouldn't have to worry every day about him, about how much time you have left to see him!"

She winced at that, but her gaze remained firm. "I mean, I would never know what 'adventure' is. I would never have gotten out into the world, and I would never have met all of the people that I care about now! Especially you!"

"Yeah, Rosette, if you hadn't have met me you—"

"Would never have learned ANYTHING!" Rosette interrupted. "So what if I don't have that much time left? It just makes me more determined than ever, and it makes me appreciate the times I _do_ have with everyone! Don't tell me that these times mean nothing to you?"

Chrono winced. "No, Rosette, I didn't mean it that way."

She smiled, one of her great big grins. "Good. Don't you ever mean it that way. Now come on, I think this ice cream is useless now."

With that, she stood up, not waiting for Chrono to even say something. He sat there, thoughts lighting up his mind anew. What if…?

"Oh come on, Kurono! We have to find Azmaria! Let's GO!" came her voice, saucy and spicy as ever. And Chrono knew that things would be okay from then on. Because unlike ice cream, which was only a treat, Rosette was always there, pushing him forward. And he knew that even though one day she might not be there, she was here now, and that's all that mattered in the long run. So he got up, brushed off his clothes, and ran after her.


End file.
